Home for the Holidays
by KitxXxShadows
Summary: Leon came home for the holidays as Aubree's Christmas gift. Thanks to Claire, who as a good best friend knows about a certain someone's crush on said man, this year everyone gets what they want for Christmas.


**Hallo everyone~ **

**Merry Christmas (when I wrote this it was Christmas atleast)**

**Sorry for a lack of update on the OTHER Resident evil story, really I am very sorry i've been so slow on that! D: Maaybe during the rest of my winter break I'll try and update:) **

**My Birthday was the 25th so I wrote this just for my amusment and gift to myself, it isn't the best and i didn't really spend too much time on it, so I can't really say how good it is or not. It's something to read, my amusement for you, so I hope you enjoy it and I hope the holidays treated everyone well(: **

Aubree Fliss Brenson was what you would call a breathing Christmas gift. She loved the snow, decorations, caroling, and hot cocoa just as much as the festive tenant on the floor above her apartment room...Except, that isn't what makes her a Christmas gift; you see, at exactly 3:24am she was born on Christmas day. So liking the season and festivities was a given with her.

Now, though, instead of spending Christmas Eve with her family like every year before, the twenty four year old was celebrating it alone because of a last minute request by her friends.

It didn't ruin her spirit one bit.

"oh Christmas tree,  
>oh Christmas tree,<br>how lovely are your branches?"

I sang with a grin as I strung up the last ordainment. The rest of my decorations were up, the tree put up and decorated on the first of December, the wreath hung nicely on the outside door, and I even put out my snow globes across the Fireplace mantel.  
>Of course it didn't work, the apartment didn't come with a fireplace, it was just a prop for looks to fit the season. Aunt Cara even bought wood for the inside!<p>

"You know Dasher and Dancer and Pranced and Vixen,"

I now was twirling my way to the kitchen to check my cookies creating a mouth watering scent from the oven,

"Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen..."

I pulled the oven open to peer inside at the golden brown cookies, a grin stretching across my face as I slipped on my oven mit.

"but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose,"

I slid the hot tray on top of the stove and turned the oven off.

"and I'd you ever saw it, you would even say it glows! All of the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph, join any reindeer games~"

Knock, knock, knock.

I danced my way from the kitchen to the door, humming the rest of the song as I gripped the handle and pulled the door open knowing already who it was.

Aubree's smile, if possible, lit up brighter which ultimately brought her dimples out completely.

"Claire, I'm so glad to see you! Come in, come in, I have hot chocolate and cookies waiting for you." Aubree swung the door open wider so Claire Redfield, her best friend since the 5the grade, could come inside into the toasty room.

"You sound like my mom who hasn't seen me for a full year, while I just saw you not even three days ago." Claire shook her head with a smile, auburn hair bouncing from the loose curls she spent the previous forty-minutes trying to maintain. Stepping in and pushing the door shut behind her, the twenty five year old glanced about the room to see what had been added to Aubree's decorations. "I see you added a snow globe."

"Courtesy of Jill and Chris, of course." Called Aubree from the kitchen, a strain to her voice as she was trying to reach on the highest shelf in her kitchen cabinet. A glass with a polar bear riding a sled image on it was what the short woman was trying to grasp and being vertically challenged, and reasons unknown to her it somehow came to be on the top shelf (when she has every other object in more height appropriate places), in the end Claire was needed.

She walked in casually, stepped around Aubree, delicately plucked the cup from the shelf, and held it out with a smirk to the fussing brunette beside her.

"You know, asking always works too Bree." Claire's voice was mocking, obviously.

"Yes, well," Aubree rolled her eyes playfully, "you know me, always one to willingly be difficult."

The girls laughed together with matching grins and proceeded to fill glasses with hot chocolate.

"Help me decorate cookies?" I asked batting my lashes towards my best friend. It wasn't like she really had a choice, it was just nice to ask.

"Like you'd give me a choice. Hand me the damn frosting." Exactly. Claire took a red frosting tube and I took a green one and we divided the cookies up evenly between us to decorate. "So Aubree, what did you say you wanted for Christmas more than anything in the whole wide world?"

"A pony?" I shrugged, determined to make my Christmas tree shaped cookie perfect. Claire laughed and smeared red frosting across my face. Shrieking with giggles soon following, I retaliated by smearing green across her face as well. We continued on for a few minutes, laughing and squealing as frosting went everywhere. On us, at least, for my floors and table managed to stay clean from the frosting fight. _Thank you Santa!_

"TIME OUT!" Claire called and we both froze, meaning my arms mid air and her leg hanging in front of her. "I actually wanted a serious answer, so what did you want?" There was a glint to her eyes, a secret meaning between her words that I just couldn't figure out.

"You know something I don't?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Answer the question Bree." So I thought long and hard, going through my many Christmas wishes. I wanted a new dishwasher, some fuzzy socks, I really did want a pony just for the hell of it, a new bed, and to have someone interested in me for once.

"I really do want a pony…" I mumbled out, childishly crossing my arms and forgetting about the frosting. Claire smacked her forehead before collecting herself and crossed her arms like me.

"Ok, yes, I know you want a pony. _Besides the pony_, I believe you wanted a certain somebody to visit you on your birthday, even though work keeps him away from home all the time. Can you guess who?"

"Santa!" I grinned, while she frowned, and licked some frosting off the back of my hand. "Am I right?" Claire just glared irritably while I gave her a cheeky smile.

"You are so lucky I love you enough to put up with your childishness." A pause. "Ok, I called in a favor and so you're going to—"

Knock, knock, knock.

"I wonder who that is, be right back." Aubree skipped out before Claire could stop her, or warn her that her Christmas gift just arrived and she still had frosting on her face. Claire smiled evily to herself, biting the head off a gingerbread man.

"Looks like she'll find out the hard way."

Aubree pulled the door open to see a marvelous sight before her, indeed. Leon Scott Kennedy stood clad in a form fitting grey turtle neck, which brought out the green in his eyes, and black jeans. What was so marvelous about the sight was a total of three reasons:

Leon is never home for holidays, thanks to his job.

He was holding a duffle bag full of what Aubree could only guess to be clothes, meaning he was planning on _staying_ as well.

He was wearing a Santa hat, not just any Santa hat but one that lit up. _Aubree adored light up hats. _

"I see you're enjoying the view." Leon smirked, snapping Aubree out of her trance which caused her face to go red instantly.

"H-Hi, Leon, what are..what are you doing here? Ah! Not that, I don't mind, I mean, um…come in please and make yourself at home." Flustered beyond repair, Aubree mechanically stepped aside to allow Leon into her small apartment that smelled of cookies and Christmas spirit. He chuckled, ruffling her tossled locks as he walked past and headed for the couch where he set his bag down.

"Aubree if you don't shut the door robbers might waltz in and steal your snow globe collections." Claire called jokingly from the other side of the room. Aubree, still unable to comprehend why Leon was here—in _her_ house of all places—panicked over Claire's statement and slammed the door shut as quickly as she could. Comical, to her friends, because the chances of that were unlikely.

"Took you long enough to get here Leon." Claire grinned, walking up to her old friend and pulling him into the famous Redfield death hug. He just laughed and squeezed back harder which ended in them both laughing. Aubree stood there watching, not really understanding anything.

"It _is_ Christmas Eve Claire, it isn't easy to get through the streets." Suddenly both Claire and Leon looked at Aubree who simply smiled because she knew of nothing else to do. "Frosting fight I see, started the party without me."

Aubree went red once more and mentally scolded herself while Claire shrugged indifferently.

"Your slow ass should have gotten here sooner. Tough luck. Anywaaay, Aubree come with me and I will help you clean your face." Like a dog, Aubree followed Claire to _her_ bathroom. Once the door shut Claire suddenly found owl like eyes boring into her own.

"You didn't tell me Leon was coming over! You didn't even tell me he was going to be in town for Christmas!" I whispered with heat scortching my cheeks. I rubbed furiously at the frosting on my face while Claire rolled her eyes and joined me.

"You didn't give me a chance to, so I let you find out on your own…surprise~~" Claire grinned, enjoying my embarrassment completely.

"But I looked like a fool, you know how much I like him…" I muttered glaring down at my stained shirt. Claire patted my cheeks and brought my attention towards her smiling face.

"Have no worries Bree, you being a fool is natural, it's nothing new."

"Gee thanks," I bit out, "that makes me feel sooo much better." Rolling her eyes once more, she pulled out a shirt from behind her, I have no idea from where, and held it out to me.

"This is my gift to you, because I am the bestest friend a girl could ever ask for. Put this on and let me know how everything goes tomorrow."

"Bestest isn't a word…wait, you're leaving me?" My voice jumped an octave.

"Well yeah, I have to go help Jill with a surprise she has for Chris tonight, you know how those two love birds are always surprising each other, so I figured why not leave you and Leon to it? Put that on, call me, thank me later." Placing a big kiss on my cheek, Claire waltzed out of the room and left me standing alone, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do now.

"Well…" Eyeing the shirt, "Might as well…"

Aubree stepped out of the bathroom three minutes later, a gold colored turtle neck of her own on hugging her frame. She rolled her shoulders once to shake her nerves and put on a smile, skipping into the main room to find Leon over looking her snow globe collection.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, can I get you anything to drink or eat?" She asked lightly, seemingly back to her old self. Leon turned with a smile that made her stomach drop and flutter with butterflies, all at the same time.

"I'd like a cookie, please, since I can smell how nicely they turned out." He announced which made Aubree nod and skip off to the kitchen. Him complimenting her cooking was normal, she cooked regularly for friends and family so her skills increased to the more pleasant side. Taking the Christmas tree she had worked so hard on, Aubree brought it out to Leon with a cup of cocoa regardless of him asking for it or not. "Ah, thank you." Smiling, he took it and admired the care Aubree had put into it before biting into it.

"So, Leon, I feel like I'm keeping you from your family or something. Aren't they expecting you if you're off?" She couldn't resist, Aubree just had to ask why such a wonderful man was wasting precious family time on her. Not that they weren't close friends or anything, she just knew how tight his schedule was. Leon smiled a knowing smile.

"I'll see them tomorrow," He shrugged, "I have something important to do first. Do you trust me?" Aubree was completely caught off guard.

"Of course I do Leon, why?" She tilted her head only slightly with curiosity. Leon grinned a boyish smile, one that showed he was up to no good. Out of his back pocket, Leon pulled out a blindfold and held it up for Aubree to see.

"I have a surprise for you but it requires you wearing this. Okay?" When Aubree nodded despite her innards telling her not to, Leon stepped behind her and tied it gently, but securely, around her eyes so she couldn't see.

"I'm going to fall over something I just know it Leon~" Whined the twenty-four year old, who seemed more like a five year old than her actual age now. Leon chuckled, walking back around so he was in front of her. Waving a hand in front of her face to check if she really couldn't see, pleased with himself when she made no sign she knew what he was doing, Leon grinned to the blindfolded woman.

"I'll make sure you don't fall Bree." He took her hands in his and began leading her towards the door.

So many possibilities ran through my mind on what Leon had to show me. Mostly, I just didn't want to fall, but this did turn out nicely since he had to hold my hands in his to guide me. They were warm and bigger than mine of course, but fit nicely with mine all the same.

"Where are we going? I have mixed feelings about surprises, will something jump out at me? I may hit someone on reflex so I hope not…" I gushed out quickly, thinking of what I've seen in life and movies as to what this situation could lead to.

"Relax, you'll see in just a few more steps. Nothing will jump out at you I promise." Leon gave my hands a squeeze that, in turn, made me smile involuntarily. I hope he wasn't looking. A few more weary steps later, I felt the immediate change in temperature as we stepped outside of the apartment building. I waited for people to shout something or, well, anything, but nothing happened.

"Don't move, ok? When I say open, you can open your eyes." Leon whispered softly as he undid the blindfold. I kept my eyes closed and waited as patiently as I could. The childish part of me was excited for what I was going to see. "Ok, you can open." And open I did.

"It's a pony!" I squealed with joy as I flung myself towards the white horse before me.

"Actually," Leon chuckled, "It's a horse, two of them, and a carriage. Claire told me how you've been going on and on about a pony so I came up with this. You can't keep them, unfortunately, but we do have them for an hour." As Leon spoke I was cuddling my face with the horse's who snorted in turn. I grinned and spun around, forgetting the cold or my crush on one of my closest guy friends, and tackled Leon to the ground.

"I absolutely adore it! Leon thank you thank you thank you so much! It's ok if I can't keep them, this is much better." I hugged him tightly, happily, carefree and he hugged back just as tightly.

"I'm glad to hear it, Merry Christmas Aubree." He placed a long kiss, nice and gentle, on my lips before pulling me into his arms and standing, still carrying me. I was so distracted that he had kissed me that I didn't even protest to being carried. Well, we all get to be a princess sometime don't we? Sitting comfortably in the carriage, together wrapped under a warm blanket, Leon took the reigns and we were off.

Aubree squealed in pure delight as the horses pulled them smoothly down a quiet road. Regardless of snow falling and the chill in the air, she was absolutely in love with her gift, and little did she know Leon had another one in store for her. For a moment though, he enjoyed the delight she was having silently with a smile of his own.

"Dashing through the snow,

In a one horse open sleigh,

O're the fields we go,

Laughing all the way ha-ha-ha~" Aubree giggled joyfully along with her song. Leon forgot how nice she sang, not amazingly talented or rock star level, but nice to his ears in a pleasant, gentle way. He decided, the tough agent and past zombie killer, would sing along as well.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells,

Jingle all the way.

Oh what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh, hey!"

Together the duo continued to sing on and on, song after song, both uncaring for what was normal and what was simply for the moment. Aubree snuggled closer to Leon, forgetting to be shy or worried over rejection—he did kiss her first afterall—and Leon coiled his arm around her protectively while steering the horses back onto her street. A man was waiting to pick up the horses, which Aubree hugged the horses _and_ the man and said her goodbyes before waltzing up to her apartment.

"I take it your staying the night?" She questioned Leon as she pushed the door open, a smirk on her face as she held her hands on her hips. Leon grinned, kicking the door shut behind him as he stepped closer to her.

"If you'll have me." Cuddling into the crook of her neck, Leon smiled against her as he held her close. Aubree squealed in surprise and a flustered blush reddened her cheeks.

"O-Of course, you're always welcome here Leon." She smiled. Really meaning it. Leon brought her and himself to the couch where they sat, her against him in comfortable silence. The lights from the tree danced across the walls as they blinked on and off in a pattern.

"Leon, I feel so bad, I don't have anything for you to open right now…" Aubree murmured drowsily. Like a child, she easily crashed after lots of excitement, and now was no different than any other moment. Leon smiled softly at Aubree, her back against his chest and his arms around her waist; the fact that she was still awake was amazing on its own.

"Right now, you say? So does that mean there will be one eventually?" Teasing was always fun to do to the poor girl who fell for everything and was gullible enough to go with it sometimes.

"Yes, eventually, I ordered you something that won't be here until after New Years." She murmured cutely.

"It's fine really, this is all I want. I have one more gift for you Aubree, I wanted to wait until it was officially your birthday, which it is now midnight." Kissing her temple, Leon waited to see if Aubree would do anything. She titled her head up so she could see him, her eyes semi-open.

"Technically, my birthday is at 3:24 am..." She smirked, despite her sleepy state. Leon rolled his eyes. "Hmmm?"

"I have to get up to get it hold on." He chuckled softly while leaning over towards his bag. Aubree watched as Leon lifted a medium sized box out and, despite her sleepy state, she opened it with a small eagerness. A wide smile crossed her face as she stared down at the one snow globe she needed to complete her set.

"I love it, I simply love it. Leon, I love you. Thank you, Merry Christmas Leon!" Cradling it to her she leaned back to place a kiss on the corner of his mouth—meaning to or not will never be known but Leon only cradled her closer with a grin of his own.

"Happy Birthday Aubree, Merry Christmas."


End file.
